Exploris School site on New Bern Avenue sells for $20M
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Photo: Wake County Land Records
More than seven acres of land on New Bern Avenue has sold for $20 million — the latest large-money transaction to happen along Raleigh's future bus rapid transit line.
Driving the news: The property, located at 600 New Bern Ave., has been home to The Exploris School, an elementary school, for years.
- Jubilee Ventures One — a limited liability company that real estate service CoStar identifies as belonging to the Washington, D.C. firm Dalian Development — purchased the site at the end of May.
- The address listed for the LLC was also the same as Dalian, which is currently trying to rezone land at 501 Hillsborough St. to allow up to 40 stories of construction.
State of play: It's not clear what Dalian's plans for the property are — the firm could not be reached for comment — but it has a history of building mixed-use apartment buildings in Texas and Pennsylvania.
- Josh Corbat, director of resources at The Exploris School, said the new owners plan to let the school stay on the property until its new campus is built. Exploris owns land on Kindley Street in downtown.
- But there is no timeline yet for the school's move, Corbat added.
The big picture: Developers are targeting New Bern Avenue heavily, as the city prepares to begin construction on a bus rapid transit line along the street later this year.
- In June, the city of Raleigh agreed to a deal with the state to buy the former DMV headquarters on the street for $20 million.
- The city wants to build affordable housing and bring services like a grocery store or daycare to that property as the transit line increases land values in the area.